subject: How Can I Make My Refrigerator More Energy Efficient? [print this page] It is easy to make your refrigerator as energy efficient as it can be. Refrigerators are a necessary part of life but for most of us they are too expensive to replace just because there are more efficient models available.
Luckily there are two simple steps we can take to make sure that our current refrigerator is as energy efficient as possible. These steps will cost you little or no money and will provide you with some saving on your electricity bill.
1. Keep it full.
This does not seem to make sense at first, because there are more items in the refrigerator to cool. But by keeping the refrigerator as full as possible you will reduce the amount of cold air that falls out of it each time you open the door. The cold air inside is heavier than the warm air of the room which is why it falls.
This then means that there is less new, warm air inside the refrigerator after you've closed the door, and so the machine has to do less work to cool that air down. You will no doubt have noticed that often the refrigerator will start humming after the door has been opened and closed; this is the reason.
For every cold, space occupying object in the refrigerator there is less cold air to be lost when the door is opened. So putting the potatoes in the fridge rather than in the cupboard will help reduce the energy cost of running the machine. The same goes for fruit, drinks and so on. While these objects take a while to be cooled, this is easily offset by the energy you save by not losing extra cool air each time the door is opened. Even if you do not regularly drink cold water, placing full bottles of water inside the refrigerator when there is spare space will lighten the load on your electricity bill.
2. Keep the seals in good condition.
The rubber seals around the door serve to keep cold air from leaking out. Even small pieces of dried up onion skin can create tiny little gaps between the door seal and the body of the refrigerator box. By keeping the seals clean you ensure better contact between them and the refrigerator body which in turn means the machine will use less energy to keep the air inside it cool.
These steps won't turn your old appliance into a five star energy efficient refrigerator, but they will ensure you are getting the best efficiency out of the machine as possible.
